Twisting by the wooded hills of Sand Run Metro Park, the Dogwood Path provides one of the crucial scenic hikes in Akron. This peaceable loop winds by mature hardwood forest and climbs and descends the rolling terrain that makes this nook of Summit Metro Parks really feel surprisingly wild regardless of being simply minutes from town. With lovely forest surroundings, loads of wildlife, and sufficient elevation change to maintain issues attention-grabbing, climbing the Dogwood Path is a good alternative for anybody searching for an escape into nature, a stroll for the pooch, a peaceable sundown stroll, or among the finest climbing trails close to Akron.
Do not miss sundown on the meadow
Climbing the Dogwood Path
The hike begins from the Shadowfield Space car parking zone alongside Sand Run Parkway in Sand Run Metro Park. The small lot can accommodate roughly 20 autos and sometimes solely fills on busy weekends. From the parking space, search for the unmarked trailhead at a break within the timber to the fitting, the place the Dogwood Path instantly disappears into the forest.
Do not anticipate a lot of a warmup. The Dogwood Path wastes little time gaining elevation, tackling two steep climbs throughout the first 0.4 miles. The primary is particularly difficult after rain, when the dust path can develop into slick, muddy, and tough to navigate. If the realm has just lately obtained heavy rain, it could be value giving the path a day or two to dry out. When it comes to sheer steepness, these opening climbs rival—and arguably exceed—absolutely anything discovered alongside the paths of close by Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park.
Earlier than reaching the half-mile mark, the path lastly ranges out, transitioning onto a compact, sandy path that winds by mature hardwood forest. Towering timber shade a lot of the route, whereas youthful saplings fill the understory. Sand Run Metro Park’s forests and ravines help a powerful number of flora, and relying on the season, hikers could encounter every part from ferns and hemlocks to trillium, trout lily, bloodroot, and different spring wildflowers.
Among the best points of climbing the Dogwood Path is that it not often feels repetitive. Lengthy, straight stretches are virtually nonexistent. As a substitute, the trail continuously twists by the forest, rolling up and down hills, skirting ravines, and revealing barely totally different surroundings round almost each bend. It is a surprisingly rugged panorama contemplating the path sits simply minutes from the guts of Akron.
Climbing the loop clockwise, round 0.7 miles in, the forest all of a sudden opens into a big, west-facing meadow crammed with seasonal grasses and wildflowers. The change in surroundings is likely one of the highlights of the hike, and the meadow’s western publicity additionally makes it a surprisingly good place to catch the sundown. It might not fairly rival close by Prather Vista alongside the Lacking Hyperlink and Prather Trails in Cascade Valley Metro Park, however when the situations are proper, it actually holds its personal.
Past the meadow, the Dogwood Path slips again beneath the forest cover and begins a gradual descent towards the Sand Run valley. Alongside the way in which, the trail traces the perimeters of a number of wooded ravines, twisting and turning throughout rolling terrain. Relying on who you ask, this can be probably the most scenic portion of the complete loop, notably when spring wildflowers cowl the forest ground or fall colours rework the encompassing hardwoods.
Finally, the path attracts near Sand Run Parkway, the place the ultimate portion of the hike alternates between three comparatively flat stretches and two modest climbs. After every part encountered earlier, neither incline feels notably intimidating. Close to the top of the loop, the path dips downhill one remaining time, and roughly 100 ft later, hikers emerge from the woods again on the Shadowfield Space trailhead.
General, the Dogwood Path is effectively definitely worth the effort and time. Regardless of its brief mileage, the fixed elevation adjustments and surprisingly steep opening climbs make it one of many tougher brief hikes within the Akron space. Hikers with mobility limitations or these searching for a simple nature stroll could wish to take into account certainly one of Sand Run Metro Park’s gentler choices as an alternative. For these searching for a simple exercise, nonetheless, Dogwood delivers loads of problem in a comparatively small package deal. Its rolling terrain, fixed twists and turns, and connections with different trails in Sand Run Metro Park additionally make it one of many space’s higher trail-running routes and a straightforward hike to increase into an extended outing.
